A new study has revealed that the viral disease has infected the lions of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park in considerable numbers. Evidence also suggests that the disease is spread by a range of different animal species. This indicates that, within a natural environment, the virus can readily spread and movement between species is not a significant obstacle.
Canine distemper impacts several animal body systems. This includes the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts and the spinal cord and brain. Symptoms include high fever, eye inflammation and eye discharge, and coughing.
The findings have implications for pet owners because the findings highlight the ease of transmission that will occur with dogs and wild animal species.
The study was triggered by an event back in 1994. Here a strange neurological ailment wiped out 30 percent of the lion population in the Serengeti. This is one of the largest wildlife regions in the world. Laboratory testing subsequently found the cause to be canine distemper. Up until this point it was commonly thought that the disease only infected dogs, coyotes and a small number of other mammals.
Later, through analysis of blood serum, it was discovered that the lions in the national park had contracted the virus from dogs living in nearby villages. Worryingly, epidemiological trends indicate that the virus has declined among local dog populations while remaining high in lions. This would imply that other species, including hyenas and jackals, are transmitting the disease. One cause could be lions feeding on infected hyena or other carnivore remains.
The findings have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The paper is headed “Dynamics of a morbillivirus at the domestic–wildlife interface: Canine distemper virus in domestic dogs and lions.”
